Project Spotbeam
by Mxthomas
Summary: Maxwell Cypher, a regular cadet graduating from the UNSC Naval academy. One day Fleet Admiral Hood's curiosity gets the better of him, therefore Cypher and three others are handed command of four ships and are given an order. Find the Spirit of Fire and bring it home alive.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I need to stop writing stories like this XD This story and Secondary Support along with Blind jump are at the top of my list! R&R and I hope you enjoy!**_

He was nervous. How could he not be nervous? Terrence Hood, _the Terrence Hood, _had called him and three others down into the _Infinity's _conference room. They had just graduated and it was only them who had been called in. Why? Why only them? Oh god, were his cuffs buttoned? Was his collar fixed? He was over-thinking this again. His hands were on the table with one hand latched onto the others wrist and his fingers rapidly tapping onto the beautiful retro-fitted polished square wooden conference table, his legs were also tapping against the Titanium plated floor. If he looked down he could see his white uniform pants quickly moving up and down while his black shoes knocked against the floor. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a girl with long blonde hair that trailed down to her mid back. She had pale features and a soft, comforting smile on her face. This girl was Janet Strauss, top commander of her class and Cypher's best friend during his time in the UNSC Junior officer training academy.

"Are you alright?" She asked quietly in her high-pitched voice. He found her absolutely adorable but she could be very serious when she wanted to be. Cypher put on a nervous smile and nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine." He said as he looked down at the floor while shaking his head. Janet giggled.

"I'm sure he just wants to congratulate us. We were top of our class after all." She said as she walked back to her seat and sat down. The other two cadets were people Cypher had never met in his time here and he didn't really care enough to strike up a conversation. His thoughts were abruptly cut short when the door to conference room slowly opened.

Two men walked in and both were in uniform. The first was a rather youthful looking man in a grey formal navy uniform. He had short brown hair and stood around 6 feet tall, he also had brown eyes. He recognized this man. He was Captain Thomas Lasky, Captain of the UNSC_ Infinty _and commander of battle group 'Dakota'. The other was an elderly looking man in a white uniform which was decorated with ribbons and medals everywhere. He knew this man instantly.

Lord Terrence Hood.

The cadets shot up and saluted the living legend of the UNSC, Hood saluted back and gestured for them to sit down. Cypher did so and sat arrow straight as Hood slowly lowered himself into his seat. He looked them over and spoke.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice, is there anything we can get for you before we start this meeting?" He said politely to them. Cypher raised his hand and Hood looked over.

"Yes, what do you need?" He asked while leaning forward to examine the young Lieutenant with a sharp eye. Cypher spoke up in a barely controlled but firm voice.

"A glass of water would be nice sir." He said. Hood nodded and leaned out toward the doorway and cleared his throat. A guard came in and saluted. Hood spoke with a clear tone, suprising to hear from someone his age.

"Would you mind getting a glass of water for the Lieutenant here?" He asked. The guard saluted and jogged off quickly down the hall to retrieve the requested item. Hood leaned back in his chair and all was quite for a moment. Lasky stood perfectly still against the stark white wall behind and to the left of Hood. Cypher sat perfectly still until the guard returned with a tall silver glass coaster to put said glass on. Cypher said a quite thank you as he accepted it and the guard quickly walked off. He took a quick drink of the cold water in the glass before putting it down on the coaster and clearing his throat while he sat back straight up. Hood nodded and looked to the other cadets.

"Is that all that you any of you need?" He asked, they all nodded. "Alright." Hood said as he looked over to Laskey and nodded before doing the same with the guards. The door was promptly closed and locked while the guards took a more serious stance to discourage any overly curios ONI agents. Hood leaned in on the table.

"Now, I bet that your all wondering why I called you in here and why were taking these pre-cautions." He said to which the cadets nervously nodded. Hood then began to speak once more.

"In the year 2534 a ship was declared missing. A ship that could have very valuable intelligence. And very valuable people onboard." Hood then turned to Lasky, who clicked a button on a remote that dimmed the room and put an image on the wall. The image was of a large older looking ship with an emblem of a red phoenix in a circle and on this circle were the inscriptions: CVF-88 and Spirit of Fire. Cypher had heard of this ship before, the Infinity had been dispatched to find it three years ago but had failed to accurately locate the ship.

"I'm sure you recognize this ship." Hood said while gesturing to the image. We all looked at each other and nodded. Hood looked back at all of us and nodded.

"This ship contains crucial information that we desperately need. ONI doesn't want us looking for it because of it's supposed location." Hood said as a star map opened and pointed _deep_ into uncharted space. This made Cypher nervous. He wasn't going to say what he thinks he's going to say is he?

"Therefore, we need your help." Hood said. Cypher tensed up upon hearing that. He was going to do what he thought he was going to do. And Cypher wasn't very excited about it.

"But sir, what can we do?" Janet asked , tilting her head with a quizzical look. Hood looked back to the screen which now depicted a banner that had what looked like a World War Two aircraft searchlight with two swords crossed through it.

"ONI can't track cadets. Therefore your first order is this. Find the Spirit of Fire and bring it home safely." He said in a dead serious voice. The cadets then began to mutter between themselves. Cypher was leaning next to Janet and the other two were whispering amongst themselves. Hood spoke up again.

"Now, I know that this is a tall order but you won't go out there un-equipped. Commander Lasky, if you may." Hood said. Lasky stepped forward and nodded.

"Yes sir. If you would all follow me please?" Lasky said as he gestured to the door and began walking. The cadets all followed him out of the room and down the hall toward the elevator that went down to the Infinity's under-slung hanger. Cypher began to process this. That's where they kept a bunch of heavy Frigates and fighters amongst other things, Cypher was worried, very much.

Upon arriving in the Infinity's hangar Cypher took a long look around. The place was utterly gargantuan. Colors such as, Grey, Silver, Orange, and Green all blended in among the walls and ceiling. The various crews were eating, sleeping, performing maintenance on the various vehicles, or were just having conversations with each other. The place sounded alot like a High School cafeteria but with the sounds of engines and tools. Cypher had heard rumors that around 60% of the crew were housed in here. Before, he wouldn't have believed a single word of it but now? He didn't doubt it one single bit. They walked on towards the rear section of the hangar, where the ship kept its complement of Strident-Class Heavy Frigates. Upon making the transition from section-1 to section-2, Cypher noticed something.

Four of the Stridents had been replaced.

Instead of the usual Frigates, four Paris-Class Heavy Frigates had been placed in the cradles. The Paris-Class was rather famous among the UNSC Navy. The class had seen combat on every front and they had fought, or at least had been in combat with, every type of Covenant warship. Cypher greatly admired the Paris class, they relied more on tactical prowess and not brute force like most commanders at the academy had grown adapted to, Cypher could remember using two Paris-class Frigates to outsmart and defeat a Vindication-Class light Battleship by positioning the two above the Vindication ad dropping SOIEV pods down into it to commit sabotage on it's power core, knocking out it's point defense systems and shielding which allowed the two Frigates to swarm it with Archer missiles and MAC fire. The opposing commander wasn't to fond of Cypher after that simulation.

"UNSC_Northstar, Watchman, Whaler, _and _Hailstorm._ These four Frigates recently had some modernizations completed on them. These warships now have energy shielding, new MK-IV Heavy Coil MAC guns, and a small surplus of Rapier missile pods near mid-ship."Lasky explained as he gestured to the four ships. The hulls also seemed a bit more elongated than the common Paris-class. They also had received a coat of dark black paint with blue accents. They looked straight-up badass. Cypher was ripped from his thoughts by Lasky.

"Janet Strauss, You have been assigned Captain of the _Northstar._ Randy Austin, You have been assigned Captain of the _Watchman_. Nelson Mills, You have been assigned Captain of the _Whaler. _And Maxwell Cypher, You have been assigned Captain of the _Hailstorm_." He said, they all looked over their ships and nodded, they were beyond satisfied. Janet slowly raised her hand.

"Yes?" Lasky said as he looked over to her. Janet seemed a bit nervous but she spoke anyway.

"How were our command positions determined?" She asked. Cypher hummed, that was indeed a good question. Lasky nodded and gestured back to the ships.

"Each ship has received a unique modification to fit each of your tactical styles. Ms. Strauss' here has received an updated engine assembly, making faster and more maneuverable. Mr. Mills' has received an elongated MAC for harder hitting shots. Mr. Austin's has a stealth drive to disable emissions from the ships signature, allowing a first shot advantage. Mr. Cypher's has received a KTGKH-Disruptor bomb. Allowing the temporary malfunction if most shielding systems." Cypher perked up a bit. Disruptor bombs were useful against corvettes and destroyers, along with being able to weaken a larger ship's shields. A very handy tool incase they ran into a destroyer or maybe even a light cruiser. Cypher wondered what would happen if the disruptor was fired at something larger like a CSS, DDS, CAS, or hell maybe even a CSO. He decided to eventually drop the thought.

Lasky was leading the various cadets towards their respective ships, upon reaching the _Hailstorm_ he turned to Cypher.

"I suggest you get familiar with the ship. Your mission begins in two weeks and you'll be out there for a while." He said before turning and leaving Cypher at the airlock to the Frigate. Cypher inhaled a deep breath and exhaled before placing his hand on the scanner. His identity was approved and he was allowed inside. The airlock was around mid-ship, where the Life-pods were stored for emergency evacuation purposes,the airlocks themselves kind of looked like they had threads, similar to ones you'd find in a lightbulb socket. The illuminated grey hallways looked quite nice with the various emergency equipment and piping along the walls. He walked down the halls, stopping in the mess, medical wing, and hangar before eventually reaching the bridge.

"Hello!" A perky, young, and cheerful voice suddenly called out. Cypher jumped and spun around upon hearing that. He turned to see the ship's new Human AI. Human AI'S were developed not long after the Human-Covenant war and have been in service from then onward. They were made by taking genetic material from a human brain, a "host" so to speak. The brain is unfortunately destroyed in the process but the result is a fully aware and sentient AI that could make on the spot decisions. Much more efficient than the common "Dumb and "Smart" AI'S from past years. The best thing about these AI'S is that they were immune to rampancy, the organic neural impulses subdue the side-effects of a having a hyper-active thought process. The AI itself really matched it's voice.

It was a young-looking teenage girl who wore a dark blue sweater, a gray T-Shirt, black jeans, and blue sneakers. She had long dark hair that railed down to her waist and wore a disturbingly cheerful smile. Cypher was kind of creeped out by her. But he spoke to the AI anyway.

"Uhm...Good evening to you as well." Cypher said as he turned and did a tiny bow toward her. The AI giggled. Cypher lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head.

"Umm, what's so funny?" He said with a questioning tone. The AI just giggled again. Cypher's jaw dropped a bit at that. The AI spoke.

"Your so cute when your confused!" She said. Cypher's head recoiled and his eyes widened along with a faint blush that came across his face. He was what?

"W-what?" He stammered out in absolute shock. Did she really just call him _cute?_ Cypher was at an absolute loss for words.

"And your blushing! Oh god I think I'm gonna have a nosebleed!" She said. Cypher really had no idea what the hell was going on right now. He decided to change the topic.

"What's your name?" He asked quickly, fearing he would stutter again and restart the process with the giggling. And to his dismay, She giggled again. _Here we go..._

"Autumn!" She said excitedly. Cypher let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that, he seriously didn't want an awkward moment like that again. Cypher looked over the instruments slowly, insuring that they worked. Once he was satisfied he bid a brief farewell to Autumn and left. He still had two whole weeks to ready himself. He wondered how the others were doing and what kind of AI'S they got. _Well...could be worse._ He looked over to the _Watchman_ and saw an explosion._ ALOT WORSE!_

Thankfully, the explosion on the _Watchman _was a small one and only caused minor damage. Apparently there was a box of Fusion Coils that got compressed a bit too much and they detonated, damaging two Pelicans and a Longsword. He was thankful no one was killed or injured in the blast but that might have delayed their mission by a few days. Cypher didn't have much of a problem with it, he was just slightly dreading having to talking to Autumn more. The girl was an odd one but she would keep things interesting while they were out there at least. He walked back to section-1 of the hangar, there was a Pelican waiting for him there. Or there was supposed to be. When he arrived the Pelican that was supposed to take him back down to his apartment wasn't there. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Looking for you ride?" A familiar voice spoke from behind him. He turned to see Lasky standing there. Cypher nodded. Lasky continued to stare out over the city of New Phoenix as the _Infinity _slowly drifted over it.

"There's been a change of plans. ONI can't track you here, and we can handle your requisitions. If you were out there and any suspicios items came up ONI would be all over us. We don't want that." Lasky explained to which Cypher nodded. The only family Cypher had left was his brother but he passed away two years ago. Shot to death on a street corner by Insurrectionists. That spawned Cypher's intense hate of terrorism, one of the many reasons he had decided to join the navy aside from the New Phoenix incident. If he looked out of the hangar right now he could see the memorial to those who were unfortunate enough to be residents of this place. It was unnerving to be here, even if he was literally above it, but he carried on without a hitch anyway.

"Understood sir." He said firmly, he actually would prefer to stay on the _Infinity_, he liked it here. He was actually born in Berlin and lived there for seven years until he moved to New Phoenix, he was on vacation during the attack. He remembers news reports and seeing UNSC Warships dispatching and heading to the city. He shook his head to clear his mind of that thought, thinking about something like that wasn't good for someone in his position. He turned to see that Lasky had left and Strauss was running up to him.

"Hey!" She shouted as she reached him. Cypher just turned around and nodded before he started walking toward the elevator in the Hangar. Strauss ran up to his hide, she had a confused look on her face.

"Where are you going? The Pelicans are over there!" She said pointing back toward section-1. Cypher kept on walking to the elevator.

"Back to my dorm." He stated simply as he pressed the button to call the elevator down to the hangar.

"Why?" Strauss asked, Cypher turned to her with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Lasky didn't tell you?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice. Strauss shook her head.

"We have to stay on the _Infinity _or ONI will catch wind of Hood and Lasky's mission, also us by extension." Cypher explained. Strauss simply gave a nod, she didn't have much family out there either. Her father was in the Marines and her mother was an ODST. A bad combination to have a daughter. Cypher stepped on the elevator as it went up to floor 88, the floor where student dorms were. The _Infinity _had dorms because cadets often got their first taste of the actual 'Final Frontier' on this ship and generally stayed out there for a long time. Cypher reached his dorm, he waved to Strauss and unlocked the door. After stepping inside he walked up to his computer and turned it on. He had been keeping a journal on it and from the look of things he wasn't done with it not any time soon. He sat down and began to type.

_**Entry 78, Maxwell Cypher. Date: August/19/2561**_

_**Well I finally got my wish, commanding my own ship was something I wanted from the very moment I joined the academy here. Thankfully I'm allowed to write this due to Lasky and Hood screening our operation so they let us write in our journals. Well me anyway, I don't know if the others keep records of these kind of things. Or if they write journals at all.**_

_**I'll have to ask Strauss about that.**_

_**Regardless, we're being dispatched to look for the UNSC Spirit of Fire. A ship that went missing 27 years ago and that could have vital information about the other disappearances that have been happening. Ships that just go missing without a word.**_

_**I've been assigned Captain of a Paris-Class Heavy Frigate the UNSC Hailstorm. The AI aboard it is rather...odd but she's interesting. We leave in two weeks to go find the ship. I can only hope the crew survived, and that the AI has managed to fight off rampancy until we get to it. Until next time.**_

_**Maxwell Cypher**_

When he had finished typing it up he went into the kitchen that the room had, he got to the door and stopped to think. Before proceeding to make a sandwich and sit down at his desk again. He did a little research on his vessel and discovered that the ship was due for further modernization on the internal systems but the order was dropped and the ship was commissioned five weeks ago. He had never remembered seeing it before. He finally got done eating and decided that he wanted to go for a walk, he was a little tired but how could he not be? All this dumped on him in one day, he was bound for exhaustion yet he went for the walk regardless.

As he strolled around the pristine ship that was the _Infinity_ he could see the other cadets celebrating their advance into the navy. Exciting adventures, brave sailors and defeating the enemy and protecting their home world!

He could be absolutely confirm that not a single one of them new that around 80% of the 'Brave Sailors' in the propoganda never came home. But that was his mission, bring a ship and her crew of 11,000 home. Cypher continued his quiet stroll until he realised he had walked right back to his room. He laughed at himself and shook his head, he could be a bit spacey at times but he's learned to keep it under control when he needs to. He was getting tired, he faceplanted on his bed and went to sleep. He was down right dead by now.

He woke up to the blaring sound of his alarm, he snapped twice and the device from hell shut up. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He wiped his eyes to fix his groggy vision which worked well enough, he stood up and took a shower, got dressed, and went off to the hangar to try and at least get used to Autumn which was going to be more of a challenge than he thought it would. As he reached the Hangar he noticed that the _Whaler _was gone. He wondered where it could have possibly gone. Well, until he looked out the window.

_**AN: And there's that, keep in mind that this is only a pilot chapter to see who likes this. Future installments will be longer. Much longer. I mean like HOLY SHIT ON A STICK kinda deal.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**N: Prepare yourselves, this is going to be quite the ride. In comes the horde of words!**_

Upon looking out the port-side observation window he saw the _Whaler _drifting along slowly to insure it didn't get to far ahead. Cypher tilted his head. _What's it doing out there? _He wondered as his eyes followed the ship's forward movement. There really was no reason for it to be out there as there was no way any loyalist Covenant ships would dive all the way down to atmosphere, and if they did they would have been ripped apart by the fire from all the MAC guns and the home fleet ships. His questions were answered by Lasky who had walked up behind him. He seemed to be everywhere at once...

"It's out on a test run. We're insuring that all the engines and maneuvering thrusters work properly." Lasky explained. Cypher hummed and nodded, a sensible answer considering the task they were given. The ships needed to be in absolutely perfect shape to insure that they completed the task. Going that far out would be risky and there would be no reinforcements due to ONI possibly stepping in. Cypher turned and looked at his own ship. It was made more for tactics than force, which suited him just fine but having the bigger gun also helps to. The Rapier missiles could make a difference in a fight against a Cruiser or Destroyer and the Disruptor would certainly even the odds against something as large as a CSS. But something like a CAS or CSO would certainly mean the death of them as those class of ships were meant to take on ships as big, if not bigger, than the_ Infinity. _The modest yet dangerous _Paris-class_ were meant to take on things such as CPV-class Destroyers and SDV-class corvettes and even that was pushing it as it commonly took numerous Paris-classes to destroy ships of that class. Lasky spoke again.

"Your up next." He said plainly. Cypher gave him a quizzical look.

"Sir?" He asked to which Lasky gestured to the Hailstorm. He could see where this was going.

"Your heading out next. We need to make sure that the _Hailstorm _is operating properly." He explained. Cypher saluted and walked off to his ship, wondering why they would need to make a test run after the ship has been run through several pre-flight checks and fixes. He decided not to question it and boarded the ship. As he expected, not all of the crew were cadets but it didn't matter. They saluted and said a respectful "Sir" as he walked by to which he saluted as well. Upon reaching the grey and black piped bridge the officers stood up and saluted while the executive officer gave the customary "Captain on deck!" Cypher saluted back.

"Carry on." He said as he lowered his arm and walked to the Captain's chair and sat down. Autumn appeared on the holotable beside him.

"Engines are fueled and ready, all hands are prepped and fighters are on standby." She reported with her usual cheerful tone. Cypher nodded though inside he was wondering why all this was necessary.

"Has Lasky given us the go?" He asked to which Autumn nodded. Cypher turned back to the observation window and spoke his order.

"Bring us out to 1-4-6-2, ahead full." He said. The executive officer nodded and relayed the order to the crew. He felt the jolt of the cradle un-latching and the ship moving out of the bay into the open sky above New Phoenix to join it's fellow ships around the perimeter of the _Infinity_. Completely oblivious of what was about to happen.

Janet Strauss sat patiently in her chair as she stared out over her three comrade's ships as they drifted alongside the _Infinity. _She was particularly staring at the _Hailstorm, _she was worried about Cypher. He was her best friend during the past four years and she was wondering how he was dealing with his first command position. He always seemed very calm but also extremely shy when around people of high stature or people he didn't know.

"Ma'am, the _Infinity _is on the line." Her comms officer said. Janet nodded and replied.

"Patch them through." She said. Not a second later, Lasky's face was on her holotable.

"Captain Strauss, our your men ready?" He asked. Janet tilted her head. Ready for what?

"Yes sir, my men and ship are ready. But what for sir? This is just a maintenance run." She said, her voice laced with curiosity and confusion. Lasky sighed.

"To tell the truth? No, we're out here for something completely different." He said. A small bit of guilt in his voice.

Cypher could also hear all of this because Lasky was broadcasting to all four ships through the holotable. Completely different? What?

"Sir? Why exactly are we out here? I prefer to be briefed before I walk into something." Cypher said, slightly agitated. Lasky cut straight to the chase.

"Two weeks ago, seven ships went missing from dry dock D-341. 5 were Strident-Class frigates. We suspect insurrectionists and we were proven right by radio chatter claiming that they had gained seven new toys...we're here to hunt them down." He explained. Everyone but Cypher panicked, as Cypher was confident in his abilities.

"W-what? Us sir?" Janet said in surprise. Lasky nodded and brought up a diagram, one of a nearby system.

"They supposedly fled to a captured dock here. We'll be on station for heavy fire support, call us in if things go wrong." Lasky said. Cypher thought for a second and then realized something.

"Sir, you said seven ships were stolen. What are the other two?" He asked slowly, almost threateningly as he didn't want to walk into a trap that could get him and his crew killed.

"The other two were confirmed to be Vindication-class light battleships." Lasky said bluntly. Cypher tensed, he had taken those on in a simulator but this was different. There were two and they had the support of five heavy frigates with them. And who said that this wasn't a planned attack? They could be attacking a whole insurrectionist fleet for all they knew!

"Battleships?! You never said we'd be hunting those!" Came Mills' voice from the ship to Cypher's right. He had never met Mills but from what could gather from the academy Mills tended to use sheer overwhelming force to win a battle. Cypher had never faced him so he didn't know how viable his tactic was. But two Vindications...wow. Alone they weren't that much of a threat but with those Stridents they suddenly became a whole lot worse. He wondered what they were planning, an invasion? War? A massacre? He didn't know but they were about to find out. And not the easy way either.

Cypher was sitting in his chair as he waited for the go order from Lasky to begin the attack. The _Infinity _was ordered to stay out of the fight and only step in if the other ships were overwhelmed or damaged on a critical level. _Hailstorm_ took point as they approached the dockyard where the pirates were supposedly hiding. Dockyard S-45...wasn't there some new ship refueling there for a trip back to Reach? Some new heavy cruiser was it? He couldn't remember right now but he'd find out soon enough. In the mean time, he was researching dockyard S-45 with the help of Autumn and what he found was interesting. S-45 had been made during the fall of Reach, making it one of the oldest dockyards ever made. Only the field medical station "Hopeful" could beat it in age. Hopeful had gone missing but was assumed to be intact, the damn thing was near unkillable as it had fought off several CSS-Class battle cruisers on it's own. He looked over to Autumn...who was revealed to be staring at him.

"Uhhh...Autumn?" He asked, slightly unnerved by her staring. Her eyes widened but she didn't quiet lose her composure. She shook off the look and nodded.

"Sir?" She asked, most likely for an order. Cypher turned back to the observation window.

"Has Lasky cleared us yet?" He asked to which Autumn shook her head.

"Negative, sir. Not yet." She said. Cypher nodded, stood up, and began walking over to the holotable and began discussing any possible ambush points with the XO. They made a plan to approach the dockyard from behind the main structure, the actual dry dock, as to use it as cover from whatever the enemy had brought to the table. Unfortunately, this would place the dock at risk and they had to adjust their plan to come in from the right flank. Also, they didnt know exactly how many ships they'd be facing there so they only made a plan to take on those seven that were confirmed to be there. Cypher could only hope that there were only seven ships.

_Meanwhile..._

"COOPER!" The man shouted to the top of his lungs. He was pissed off beyond any belief right now, his rifle had gone missing and he knew just who took it. The person had been a thorn in his side the very day he joined the ODST aboard the _Hailstorm. _He had made complaints and even tried to get vengeance upon his tormentor but alas, it was no use. His nemesis had remained at large and his missing rifle was proof of that. He marched to the other side of the hangar, where he knew Cooper was, and slapped his hand right down on the table he was sitting at. A helmeted head with the word "GH0ST" inscribed on the side looked up to meet his gaze, Most people called him Ghost but a few called him Cooper, which was his actual name. The rather angry gentleman was Edwards, a specialist in anti-vehicular warfare and commander of the _Hailstorm's _ODST compliment. Cooper was the team's demolitions expert, which was hinted at by the ungodly amount of C-7 in his locker. Cooper had a very unhealthy habit of stealing things and Edwards was fed up with it. Edwards found his rifle haphazardly tossed under the table, he picked it up and then proceeded to hook the leg of Cooper's chair and yank it out from under him which caused Cooper to fall straight down to his back. Edwards grumbled and walked away, he really was done with this bullshit. He marched pack to his pod, noticing a familiar Marine on his way back.

"Hey, Zero." He said to her to which she gave a nod. Zero, or Zenevieva Meara Mulholland, was a forward recon Marine who specialized in stealth and scouting operations. She was originally from Ireland but moved to a small colony that had sprung up on Harvest when she was young. She generally wore her helmet, which hid her short croppy brown hair and dark grey eyes.

She also had a fairly pale complexion but she wasn't sickly white, along with a few freckles here and there, she also had a long scar on her back that extended to her neck along with a tatoo that depicted a raven perched on a skull. Cypher had not taken the time to meet all the individual crew so he hadn't met her yet. Zero finished looking over her rifle before she put it back on it's rack and walked back to her quarters aboard the _Hailstorm_. Zero was a quiet girl and tended not to talk much, she also rarely smiled so not many people had interaction with her. She didn't mind though, she had spent most of her life alone anyway.

_Meanwhile..._

Cypher paced back and forth around the bridge as Autumn's eyes followed him the whole time. He was considering all the variables that could come into play during the assault. Could the pirates have brought more ships? Was that ship still at the dock? Was the Covenant there? He thought, and compensated, for every possible scenario except for the outright insane ideas like a CSO showing up or another flood outbreak occurs aboard the dry dock. Autumn suddenly spoke up.

"Sir! It's Captain Lasky!" She shouted quickly, Cypher nodded and walked over to the holotable.

"Patch him through." He ordered. Autumn gave a small hum and nodded as she brought up the VidCom, revealing Lasky standing on the Infinity's bridge. Cypher saluted and gave a quick "sir!" before lowering his arm. Lasky returned the salute.

"UNSC _Hailstorm_ be advised, UNSC _Salamander _has been confirmed for a refuel and rearming at dock S-45, you are to protect it at all cost. You have go for assault. 5 _Bow-class _corvettes [1] are inbound to assist and will be placed under you command. Lasky out." He said. Cypher took a moment to process this information and eventually decided to re-adjust his plan. After a conversation with the other Frigates, it was deemed they would split up and hold the pirates off long enough for the _Salamander_ to get refueled and re-armed to provide an assist. The _Bow-class_ corvettes were a good advantage also, they were about a third of the size of a ship such as the _Hailstorm_ and packed a punch that showed that size didn't matter.

Then the real kicker happened.

On there way there they saw something, there were not seven ships as the report said and the Salamander was in deeper shit than they could have possibly estimated. Sitting there, launching hoards of Longsword fighters, were four _Poseidon-class_ light carriers. These were an issue. So was the fact that they brought some extra _Strident-class_ frigates, nine to be exact, to the party. This was very, very, _very,_ bad. They weren't equipped to deal with this but they would have to make do with the fire power they had. Cypher watched as 5_Bow-class_ corvettes formed up around the _Hailstorm, _as it turns out the five corvettes were intended to escort the _Hailstorm_ according to the plan they had formulated. The plan was that the other three Frigates would assist _Salamander's _escort force in holding off reinforcements while Cypher's force protected the _Salamander_ from threats that had broken through the line of ships. Joining Cypher in his assault was a single _Blizzard-class _missile cruiser. The ship was as slightly larger than a _Halcyon-class_ light cruiser but it packed nothing but missiles and PD guns. Cypher felt his confidence return as he gave the order to advance to the dock and assist what ships in the _Salamander's_ defence that weren't fighting the pir- no, that weren't fighting the _Rebel's_ ships on the brink of the dockyard. Cypher's forces advanced toward dry dock S-45 with one goal in mind. Protect the Salamander.

_"Prepare to repel boarders!"_ The call went out over the intercom and the crew's Marines sprung into action. Dashing around the armories, performing weapon checks, and also donning armor. 4 sets of feet, well, three sets of feet and one set of talons, were in a dead sprint for the hangar bay. One of these sets of feet was also a battle-crazed, bloodthirsty, killing machine with a monomoleculere sword to her name. This should be fun.

"Fire!" Cypher shouted as a lone frigate wandered into their crosshairs, the shot impacted the hull and was caught by the shielding but that weekend said shielding and gave the _Hailstorm_ an opening.

"All ships, fire at will!" And with that all 5 _Bow-class_ corvettes opened fire simultaneously with Cypher's warship. The shots were devastating to the Strident as the five corvettes also fired a volley of Archer missiles along with the _Hailstorm. _The Strident held out for as long as it could under the intense barrage from the six ships but eventually it snapped. The Strident exploded at mid-ship and promptly gave out. It was no longer a threat. _Hailstorm, Blizzard, _and the five _Bow_ corvettes moved on toward S-45. Cypher turned to Autumn.

"Get Lasky on the line immediately." He said to which Autumn nodded and pulled up a display. A few a seconds later Lasky appeared on the VidCom, a slight look of confusion on his face.

"UNSC Infinity responding, what's the situation?" He asked, curious as to why they called him in. Couldn't they take on a few pirates?

"UNSC Hailstorm reporting, requesting immediate reinforcements." Cypher said firmly, Lasky had a brief look of what appeared to be disappointment cross his face before he nodded.

"Affermitave Hailstorm, Infinity is inbound to provide fire support." He said, assuming that a few Stridents had overwhelmed them. Cypher shook his head.

"Sir, the _Infinity_ alone cannot fend off this attack! These aren't pirates, sir. They're Rebels!" Cypher shouted. Lasky's face was one of utter shock. A Rebel force? What?!

"How many?" He asked quickly, Cypher turned to Autumn and she shook her head. Cypher nodded and turned back around.

"We can't make an accurate estimation at the time, but were sure that this is, at the very least, an entire fleet." Cypher said, his voice dead serious. Lasky looked down and nodded in contemplation as he processed the information Cypher had given him. He eventually looked back up to Cypher and spoke.

"Expect reinforcements from Battlegroup Dakota soon. Hang in there _Hailstorm_, Lasky out." He said before cutting the link. Cypher nodded and turned to Autumn.

"Contact the Salamander and get them out of that dock now! They're sitting ducks in there!" He ordered, to which Autumn nodded quickly.

"On it!" She shouted before pulling up a com-link to the Salamander. Cypher watched the AI work, hoping that the two frigates defending the _Salamander_ were enough to hold the rebels off until Attack force Dagger got to them.

She poked her head over a crate before raising his MA5D and opening fire on a small group of boarders hiding behind a Scorpion. Her compatriots were also firing at various positions where the Rebel boarders had taken root. At one point, some crazy bastard rushed them and pointed his shotgun over one of the crates to find his target was already gone. She had taken cover behind a Warthog to his right and when he moved his shotgun to fire on the other Marines, she sprung from her position and sliced his legs and head off with two swift swings of her monomoleculer sword. She turned to see their teams sniper line up a shot on one rebel's head that was poking up from behind a flipped Warthog. He didn't have time to regret doing that. To her left was a T'voan Kig-Yar that had tackled a rebel and was currently slashing his throat with his claws. She then turned to see the leader of their team toss a grenade toward a Warthog that was being utilized by the boarders. The resulting explosion flipped the Warthog on it's back, killed the driver, wounded the passenger, and crushed the gunner. She grinned, this was going well.

On the bridge of the _Salamander_, a woman with shoulder length chestnut hair and light olive skin wearing the standard naval uniform was staring out over the situation. She knew they were hopelessly outnumbered at the dock and the ships that were being held back were on the brink of pushing through. She was about to contact the Home Fleet and request backup until she saw one of the rebel Stridents suddenly explode at mid-ship from a barrage of missiles and what seemed to be...railgun fire? She looked over to see a Paris-class frigate that seemed a bit larger than most ships of that class. Following it were 5 Bow-class corvettes and what seemed to be a Cruiser. She narrowed her eyes to try to see any identification of the ships so she could contact them by name, but one ship had beat her to the punch.

_"This is UNSC AI Autumn of the UNSC Hailstorm attempting to contact UNSC Salamander. Be advised, enemy warships have prioritized you as their primary target. You must depart from dock immediately. I repeat. You have been prioritized as the hostile's main target. You must depart immediately. We will cover your exit. Hailstorm out." _A feminine voice spoke through the channel. The woman nodded and turned to the executive officer.

"Contact the yard crew and get emergency clearance. Natsu?" The first order was directed toward the bridge crew in general, the question seemed to be directed to no one in particular. Well, until the holotable flashed and an AI avatar of a teenage boy with pink spiky hair, a sleeveless waistcoat, white, knee-length shorts, and a reptilian looking scarf appeared.

"Yeah commander? Do I finally get to blow something up?" He asked, excitement was evident in his voice. The woman nodded.

"Alert all fighters and bring all weapon systems online. We're leaving dock." She told the AI. Natsu grinned and smashed his fist into his open hand

"Dont have to tell me twice!" He said before disappearing again, she could have sworn she heard him laughing as he vanished. She smiled, at least someone shares her enthusiasm. The communications officer turned to the XO and said something. The XO turned to her.

"Ma'am, the yard crew needs about three minutes to finish refueling. If we can give them two more they can finish the repairs on one of our starboard missile pods. What are your orders?" He asked. She thought for a minute before looking back to him.

"Tell them to finish refueling, hold off on the pod." She ordered. The XO relayed her command.

_Meanwhile..._

"Fire full left volley!" Cypher shouted to the bridge crew. His orders were immediately acknowledged and a full volley sprang from the various missile pods that were found along the hull of the _Hailstorm_. A lone Paris-class frigate had wondered into their sites. Usually, this would be an even fight as the _Hailstorm_ is a Paris-class to but the _Hailstorm_ had received some fairly advanced upgrades, including making the ship larger by extending the hull and adding extra armor. Along with the upgraded MAC, new Energy shielding, upgraded point-defense systems, and the extra Archer/Rapier missile pods, the opposing ship didn't stand a chance. The missiles struck the bridge and engines causing a massive explosion the more than likely atomized anyone at the points of impact. The ship split into three portions as it drifted apart. Cypher's attention was pulled from the wreck of their adversary by Autumn.

"Sir, the _Salamander_ is leaving dock. Orders?" She asked him. Cypher stood in contemplation for a moment before turning back to her.

"Order three of our escorts to assist in it's exit, and get me an ETA on Dakota." He said, Autumn nodded and carried out the commands as quickly as she could. Cypher stared out over the two more Paris-class Frigates that were cut down by the _Hailstorm's_ escort force on their way to the dock. The _Blizzard_ was busy holding off a small force of Stridents that were flanking them. Surprisingly, it had taken little damage as it was keeping them at bay with it's massive missile armament. And then out of no where, the ship shook. Cypher's turned to Autumn.

"Shields down to...71%!" The AI called out. Cypher turned back around to the observation window to see a _Vindication-class _Light Battleship charging them head-on. Cypher narrowed his eyes but was shocked upon seeing the inscription painted upon the bridge.

_'No way...It couln't be...Could it?' _He thought as he stared at that haunting logo. He knew who's ship that was, and he was no rebel.

_Meanwhile..._

The man let out a sickeningly dark laugh as another squadron of UNSC Longswords were cut down by the Rebel ships. He had waited so long to see this happen, this slaughter, this massacre, this annihilation.

It was amazing.

The VidCom crackled to life as reports of reinforcements came in. The man's grin only widened. More kills for him!

He watched as another UNSC Strident was obliterated by the sheer force of his fleet, this caused his grin to become even wider. How that was possible eluded him. Not that he cared anyway, every kill just elated him further. Word came in that the _Salamander _had finally left dock. He let out a mad chuckle that slowly escalated into a maniacal cackle before uttering a single hushed sentence.

_"Its show time."_

_**AN: I know, i thought i could make it longer but it turns out that i cant. I was wondering if you guys would be alright with this chapter length, so let me know in the reviews! Credit to the UNSC Salamander and it's crew along, including Fireteam Vanguard, goes to BbK2442. R&R and i'll see you next time!**_


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